- The Ministry of Public Works and Housing referred a tender for expanding the airport road to two local contracting companies.
Expansion work at Queen Alia International Airport (QAIA) is expected to begin next month in order to address increasing traffic movement, ministry secretary general Sami Halasa said yesterday.
The project's cost has increased from JD60 million to JD71 million due to rising global fuel and basic commodity prices, Halasa told The Jordan Times.
He added that the project will widen the road by one lane on each side, making it a six-lane highway, in addition to constructing side streets and pedestrian bridges to serve area residents.
Traffic will soon be diverted to the service road so that contractors can begin construction, Halasa said.
The multimillion-dinar project will be carried out in two phases: The first will cover a stretch of the highway between the Naour and Madaba exits, while the second phase will revamp the section between Madaba and the QAIA intersection.
The 30-month expansion project will also benefit universities and megaprojects currently located and being built along the airport road.
The project's completion will coincide with that of the QAIA expansion, expected to be finished by 2010.
Under the terms of the 25-year concession agreement, the Airport International Group (AIG) will rehabilitate, expand and operate QAIA, and increase its capacity from 3.5 million passengers in 2006 to 9 million in 2010, with the potential for 12 million by the end of the project’s second phase.
Also on Wednesday, Transportation Minister Alaa Batayneh visited passengers at Queen Alia International Airport and was briefed on the ongoing renovation work to better utilise space and to expand locations designated for incoming and departing passengers.
During the visit, Batayneh stressed the importance of maintaining a clean environment within the terminal. He encouraged employees to ease travelling procedures and provide accurate information to passengers.
Last year, the terminal served 3.8 million travellers, although airport facilities were originally designed to serve around 3 million.
